The Well-Stocked Pantry

It’s not a pantry without a bunch of key items. I’ve listed mine in rough order of importance, the most used and versatile near the top. Mind you, this isn’t the same for everyone, but I think its a pretty good base (a bit sprawling, even). Also, this is stuff that generally doesn’t need refrigeration. And now, the list:

• salt, both table and kosher/sea salt
• pepper; whole peppercorns; black, white, green
• extra virgin olive oil; keep the bottle in a dark, cool place.
• onions; white, yellow, red/purple, and so on; keep in a cool dry place
• garlic – I always have 2 heads on hand, minimum
• pasta; I usually get a bulk bag of spaghetti and a couple boxes of penne/rigati/farfalle, etc. I’ll eventually phase out the spaghetti with weekly, fresh-made linguine/tagliatelle.
• rice; white, jasmine, brown, basmati; experiment – I like jasmine because of its flavor which is subtle but can be played up with the right mates
• flour; non-bleached, white and whole wheat. If you’re into cake or pasta, get cake or semolina flour respectively. Make sure to store these in airtight containers.
• potatoes; baking, boiling, etc. I just get general purpose baking potatoes unless I need something that will stay firmer or for whatever I’m doing. Keep in a cool place
• corn meal, white and yellow; also known as grits or polenta. Get the slow cooking kind, fast cook is a ripoff and doesn’t go much faster anyhow.
• ground wheat (semolina; farina, cream of wheat, etc.); comes in different milling grades. It’s generally the left over bits from flour production.
• whole, rolled oats. Simple enough.
• lentils and beans, tinned or dried; kidney, chickpeas, navy, black, pinto, etc.
• vinegar; white, apple cider, balsamic, red wine, etc. I get the largest white vinegar and divide for household purposes, such as glass cleaner.
• frying oil; canola, peanut, sesame; store near your olive oil
• sugar; I keep granulated, confectioners (powdered), and brown, though cane is wonderful too. I’m phasing this out though in favor of more natural sweeteners such as…
• honey. honey. honey; papa brings me a one-kilo tin from Greece every year. So. Damn. Good. It beats the pants off of that fucking bear. It is wonderfully thick, completely unadulterated. Not even water is added, like a lot of honey States-side. Sure all honey is technically organic, but they don’t always tell you how much water is added, nor is it required by law.
• tea; bagged, or fresh if you use it quick enough and store properly
• pure (real) vanilla extract; fresh beans/seeds are better, as they are fresh and more versatile. Store them in the pantry too (for a year at least, but easily more), in a container that lets some air in. If your pantry isn’t dark, well, it should be.
• dried fruit; raisins, apricots, figs, etc.
• some nuts; nuts with higher fat content or ones not preserved with salt or some other agent will go rancid somewhat quickly. I store these in the fridge. (Thanks Heidi!)

There are a few ideas that should make stocking your pantry a bit easier and your food a bit better. Here they are:

• Buy whole spices whenever you can. Use a mortar and pestle, grater, coffee grinder (get one especially for spices), or put them in a plastic bag and bash with a heavy skillet or rolling pin. Hell, even a baseball bat will do. The idea here is to get fresh spices when you need them rather than ground. Because the oils are being released only when you need them, you get far better flavor and they last longer. And don’t be scared! Use any (safe, creative) method to get the spices into the form that you need them – explore with textures too.
• If you’re storing flour/rice/sugar/etc in a plastic container, put a piece of tape on the front to label it – both what it is and when you purchased it. Gaffer’s tape works nicely as you can write on the surface, it doesn’t leave sticky residue, and can be replaced easily when you get more. Also, try to use up the old stuff before adding the new.
• If there’s a special running at your supermarket, stock up on key things like tinned tomatoes and paste, dried or tinned beans, and the like. Its best to get the product as whole as possible. In other words, whole peeled tomatoes rather than diced tomatoes. They’re already processed so the less the better. Also, the less sodium, the better.
• Organize your stuff in a way that makes sense for the space you’ve got. Higher use items should go at eye- or counter-level. Stuff that could be had by bugs or vermin should be hung or shelved where they aren’t at risk, stored in appropriate containers.
• Keep a list of what you’ve got and how much. This one’s up for debate, as I don’t do it, but will someday. One list per cabinet/drawer/etc. should do the trick and keep things simple. Laminated lists makes updating a load easier – just use a dry erase marker, or whatever works. As I mentioned, I don’t keep lists. There’s not much to keep track of when feeding one or two people. If I were my mother (or a chef), I’d run a tighter ship.

In the days to come, I’ll post a generic pantry list form that can be printed. I’ll also post a list of how long each item can be stored. I might even combine the lists so that its easier to keep track of how old those cans of artichoke hearts really are (1986 is my guess). I know this stuff exists, but I’ve yet to find anything that’s well formatted, concise, and flexible.

Please feel free to comment: things I’ve forgotten, or things you like.